Should i get one big CF or two smaller ones ?

[rmjanzen]

Hi,


As the subject suggest i would like some advice on buying compact flash memory for my G2. We're taking a nice trip to java, bali and malaysia. Therefore i need some more storage for my g2.

I'm thinking about 2 choices:

1 x 1gb transcend 45x 111 euro

or

2 x 512 mb transcend 45 x 124 euro


1 card is cheaper and you don't have to swithc ... with two cards you have a backup and if 1 goes down you don't lose all your pictures... But then again do they break down ?? And i changing cards not adding risk of breakage ?

what's your view on this ?

regards,

René

[kreego]

Hi,

1 x 1gb transcend 45x 111 euro

or

2 x 512 mb transcend 45 x 124 euro



I'm assuming you mean that the cost of the two 512Mo cards is 248 euros? I'm pretty confident in the reliability of these cards - there's a forum member who sent one through the washing machine, with no negative effect. You should be fine with just one, very large, card.

However: I find that with my 512Mo card, I can get only 200 pictures in the highest JPG resolution on my G5. personally I would need much more storage space than 1G on such a trip, which is why I invested in an portable disk drive (see below in signature) which allows me to unload my card very quickly, when needed. VoilÃ* - instant backup!

So - you might want to invest in such a solution, which would cover your backup needs. Of course, if this trip is an isolated outing, it may not be worth the expense to take this route...

Just my opinion, of course :D

K

[rmjanzen]

I'm assuming you mean that the cost of the two 512Mo cards is 248 euros?


No the two cards together cost a total of 124 euro´s and the 1 gb card costs 111 euro


personally I would need much more storage space than 1G on such a trip, which is why I invested in an portable disk drive (see below in signature) which allows me to unload my card very quickly, when needed. VoilÃ* - instant backup!

So - you might want to invest in such a solution, which would cover your backup needs. Of course, if this trip is an isolated outing, it may not be worth the expense to take this route...

Just my opinion, of course :D

K

that´s what is was thinking about to.... but somehow i am hesitant towards such a machine ... How would i know that the pictures have transfered save ?... If i really would want to knwo i guess i should go for one with a lcd screen that´s able to show the pictures.... but they range from 350 euro´s upwards... for that money i could also buy 3gb of storage cards... but i have to say it is an option i´m thinking about (also an option is buying a second hand mini laptop as a toshiba libretto that has an pcmcia slot and a 4gb harddisk... this would be cheaper)

regards,

René

[kreego]

René,

I think all three solutions (cards/hdd/laptop) are all viable, so I have no clear-cut preference for your scenario. The laptop probably costs the same as a fancier hdd, but then you can maybe do a little editing, or at least view the pictures on the screen, which is a much better way of editing than looking on the camera's screen ;-)

Two more points for you:

Concerning data integrity, my portable hdd has a routine for testing the results of a copy action, which I use every time. I've had absolutely no problems offloading thousands of images. I still pause an instant before pressing the "Erase Card" button though - its a primitive reflex ;-)

Concerning a hdd with a view screen, I noticed these costed SO much more than the more basic ones, I decided I didn't need that. If I want to review my pictures on a postage-size screen, I'll do it on the G5! Which means that you might want to opt for an intermediate solution, a hdd which has a video output capacity, meaning the unit can output views of the images to a TV. This works just fine.

Regards

K

[CyberDyneSystems]

I allways beleived two cards is better than one.. however last time I checked.. two 512 used to go for slightly LESS than one 1GB... now that the 1GB cards are so reasobale that is now longer the case I guess.

Still.. I like two cards so that I can keep shooting while one downloads.. thus perpertual shooting is possible.

[twl845]

I think it all depends on how liberal you are in the amount of shots you take. I tend to edit my shots as I go and delete the ones that aren't what I expected. That way I don't require as big a card. I would go with the 2 card method. A 512 card should net you about 250 shots. That's alot of exceptable shots, after you weed out the less than acceptable ones.

[Autumn]

See my post here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=271486#271486